Do Not Disturb Feature for Audio Notifications

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for actuating a Do Not Disturb (DND) feature of a playback device that is configured to play back alert notifications from a plurality of network-enabled devices include (i) a mobile device receiving input data representing a selection of the playback device; (ii) the mobile device receiving input data representing a selection of a DND time period; and (iii) responsive to receiving the input data representing the selections of the playback device and the DND time period, sending an instruction to the selected playback device that causes the selected playback device to enter a DND mode for the duration of the selected DND time period, during which the selected playback device is instructed to not play back alert notifications when the alert notifications are received from at least one network-enabled device of the plurality of network-enabled devices.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/385,542 titled “Do Not Disturb Feature for Audio Notifications,”filed on Jul. 26, 2021, and currently pending; U.S. application Ser. No.17/385,542 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/177,185titled “Do Not Disturb Feature for Audio Notifications” filed on Oct.31, 2018, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,076,035 on Jul. 27, 2021; U.S.application Ser. No. 16/177,185 is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/148,879 titled “Audio Notifications” filed onOct. 1, 2018, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,797,667 on Oct. 6, 2020;U.S. application Ser. Nos. 16/148,879 and 16/177,185 both claim thebenefit of U.S. Provisional App. No. 62/723,942 titled “Playback DeviceControl” filed on Aug. 28, 2018 and now expired. The entire contents ofU.S. application Ser. Nos. 17/385,542; 16/177,185; 16/148,879; and62/723,942 are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is related to consumer goods and, moreparticularly, to methods, systems, products, features, services, andother elements directed to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2002, when SONOS, Inc. began developmentof a new type of playback system. Sonos then filed one of its firstpatent applications in 2003, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering itsfirst media playback systems for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HomeSound System enables people to experience music from many sources viaone or more networked playback devices. Through a software controlapplication installed on a controller (e.g., smartphone, tablet,computer, voice input device), one can play what she wants in any roomhaving a networked playback device. Media content (e.g., songs,podcasts, video sound) can be streamed to playback devices such thateach room with a playback device can play back corresponding differentmedia content. In addition, rooms can be grouped together forsynchronous playback of the same media content, and/or the same mediacontent can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings, as listed below. A personskilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown inthe drawings are for purposes of illustrations, and variations,including different and/or additional features and arrangements thereof,are possible.

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of an environment having a mediaplayback system configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosedtechnology.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system of FIG. 1Aand one or more networks.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of a control device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a playback environment within which a playbackdevice may output audio alerts from network-enabled devices.

FIG. 3A is an example alert communication from a network-enabled deviceto a playback device.

FIG. 3B is an example alert response communication from a playbackdevice to a network-enabled device.

FIG. 4A depicts an example graphical user interface (GUI) for actuatinga DND feature of a playback device configured to output alertnotifications from network-enabled devices.

FIG. 4B depicts an example GUI for actuating a DND feature of a playbackdevice configured to output alert notifications from network-enableddevices.

FIG. 4C depicts an example GUI for actuating a DND feature of a playbackdevice configured to output alert notifications from network-enableddevices.

FIG. 4D depicts an example GUI for actuating a DND feature of a playbackdevice configured to output alert notifications from network-enableddevices.

FIG. 4E depicts an example GUI for actuating a DND feature of a playbackdevice configured to output alert notifications from network-enableddevices.

FIG. 4F depicts an example GUI for actuating a DND feature of a playbackdevice configured to output alert notifications from network-enableddevices.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for actuating a DND feature of aplayback device configured to output alert notifications fromnetwork-enabled devices.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that thetechnology disclosed herein is not limited to the arrangements and/orinstrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

“Smart devices” (also referred to as “IoT devices” and referred toherein as “network-enabled devices”) are becoming more prevalent, suchthat it is common for an individual to interact with numerous smartdevices throughout the course of an ordinary day, and many householdsinclude multiple smart devices, often from different manufacturers orproviders. For instance, a household may include one or more of a smartdoorbell (such as those provided by Nest® or Ring®), a smart thermostat(such as those provided by (Nest® or Ecobee®), a smart vacuum (such asthose provided by iRobot® or Neato®), or smart appliances (such as thoseprovided by GE® or Whirlpool®), to name a few examples.

Smart devices may provide convenience by automating various tasks and byallowing a user to remotely control or otherwise interact with the smartdevices. For instance, smart devices may generate alerts upon detectingvarious events in order to notify the user that the detected events haveoccurred. For instance, a smart doorbell may generate an alertresponsive to detecting the presence of an individual at the door, asmart thermostat may generate an alert responsive to determining that aroom has reached a threshold high or low temperature or responsive toactivating or deactivating an HVAC system, and a smart vacuum maygenerate an alert responsive to starting or finishing a cleaning cycle.

In order to improve the user experience, playback devices can beconfigured to output alert notifications corresponding to the alertsgenerated by the smart devices. For instance, to facilitatecommunicating with various smart devices, a playback device can beconfigured with an application programming interface (API) through whichthe smart devices can communicate with the playback device.

Using the playback device API, the playback device can receive alertcommunications from the smart devices. An alert communication mayspecify various characteristics of an alert, such as by identifying aparticular audio notification that is to be played back by the playbackdevice, as well as by identifying a priority level of the alert.

In some examples, the playback device may handle alert communicationsdifferently based on their identified priority level. For instance, whenthe playback device receives an alert communication, the playback devicemay add the audio notification identified by the alert communication toa queue of notifications for playback, and the playback device may addhigher priority notifications ahead of lower priority notifications inthe queue. Other examples of how the playback device treats alertcommunications differently based on their identified priority level aredescribed in further detail below.

After receiving an alert communication from a smart device, the playbackdevice can then play back the audio notification identified by the alertcommunication. If the playback device is outputting other audio content,such as music or television audio, then the playback device may stopplaying back the other audio content or duck the other audio content inorder to facilitate playing back the audio notification. Using theplayback device to play back the audio notification corresponding to thesmart device alert, instead of or in addition to displaying an alertnotification on the user's mobile device, may increase the likelihoodthat the user will be notified of the alert and may result in animproved user experience.

However, in some circumstances, the user may desire to disable playbackof the audio notification by some or all of the playback devices. Forinstance, the user may wish to disable playback of audio notificationsat night to avoid being woken up by an audio notification. As anotherexample, alerts from certain smart devices may be more relevant incertain rooms, such that the user may wish to disable audionotifications for particular playback devices and/or that correspond toparticular smart devices. For instance, alerts generated by a smart ovenmay be more relevant to users located in a kitchen than to users locatedin a bedroom, so the user may wish to disable audio notifications ofsmart oven alerts for playback devices located in the bedroom. Otherexamples are possible as well.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods to help address these or otherissues. In particular, the present disclosure provides example systemsand methods that involve actuating a Do Not Disturb (DND) feature of aplayback device that is configured to output audio notificationscorresponding to alerts generated by smart devices. To facilitate this,a user can specify various characteristics of a DND feature via agraphical user interface (GUI) of a control device (e.g., the user'smobile device) including a time period during which the DND feature isto be activated, the playback devices that are subjected to the DNDfeature, and/or the smart devices whose generated alerts are subjectedto the DND feature. In accordance with the specified characteristics ofthe DND feature, the mobile device can send DND activation anddeactivation messages to the appropriate playback devices and/or smartdevices.

Accordingly, in some implementations, for example, a mobile deviceincludes (i) a network interface, wherein the mobile device isconfigured to communicate, via the network interface, with a pluralityof playback devices and a plurality of network-enabled devices on alocal area network, and wherein the plurality of playback devices areconfigured to play back alert notifications in response to receiving,via the local area network, the alert notifications from the pluralityof network-enabled devices; (ii) one or more processors; and (iii)tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors to cause the mobile device toperform various operations. The operations include receiving, via agraphical user interface of the mobile device, input data representing aselection of at least one playback device of the plurality of playbackdevices and receiving, via the graphical user interface of the mobiledevice, input data representing a selection of a Do Not Disturb (DND)time period. The operations further include, responsive to receiving theinput data representing the selections of the at least one playbackdevice and the DND time period, sending, via the network interface, aninstruction to the selected at least one playback device that causes theselected at least one playback device to enter a DND mode for theduration of the selected DND time period, during which the selected atleast one playback device is instructed to not play back alertnotifications when the alert notifications are received from at leastone network-enabled device of the plurality of network-enabled devices,wherein the selected at least one playback device is configured to playback alert notifications responsive to receiving the alert notificationsoutside of the DND time period.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users,” “listeners,” and/or other entities, itshould be understood that this is for purposes of explanation only. Theclaims should not be interpreted to require action by any such exampleactor unless explicitly required by the language of the claimsthemselves.

Moreover, some functions are described herein as being performed “basedon” or “in response to” (or “responsive to”) another element orfunction. “Based on” should be understood that one element or functionis related to another function or element. “In response to” should beunderstood that one element or function is a necessary result of anotherfunction or element. For the sake of brevity, functions are generallydescribed as being based on another function when a functional linkexists; however, disclosure of either type of relationship should beunderstood as disclosing both types of functional relationship. In theclaims, the functional relationship should be interpreted as recited.

In the Figures, identical reference numbers identify generally similar,and/or identical, elements. To facilitate the discussion of anyparticular element, the most significant digit or digits of a referencenumber refers to the Figure in which that element is first introduced.For example, element 110 a is first introduced and discussed withreference to FIG. 1A. Many of the details, dimensions, angles and otherfeatures shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particularembodiments of the disclosed technology. Accordingly, other embodimentscan have other details, dimensions, angles and features withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, thoseof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments ofthe various disclosed technologies can be practiced without several ofthe details described below.

II. Suitable Operating Environment

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of a media playback system 100distributed in an environment 101 (e.g., a house). The media playbacksystem 100 comprises one or more playback devices 110 (identifiedindividually as playback devices 110 a-n), one or more networkmicrophone devices (“NMDs”) 120 (identified individually as NMDs 120a-c), and one or more control devices 130 (identified individually ascontrol devices 130 a and 130 b).

As used herein the term “playback device” can generally refer to anetwork device configured to receive, process, and output data of amedia playback system. For example, a playback device can be a networkdevice that receives and processes audio content. In some embodiments, aplayback device includes one or more transducers or speakers powered byone or more amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, a playback deviceincludes one of (or neither of) the speaker and the amplifier. Forinstance, a playback device can comprise one or more amplifiersconfigured to drive one or more speakers external to the playback devicevia a corresponding wire or cable.

Moreover, as used herein the term NMD (i.e., a “network microphonedevice”) can generally refer to a network device that is configured foraudio detection. In some embodiments, an NMD is a stand-alone deviceconfigured primarily for audio detection. In other embodiments, an NMDis incorporated into a playback device (or vice versa).

The term “control device” can generally refer to a network deviceconfigured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access,control, and/or configuration of the media playback system 100.

Each of the playback devices 110 is configured to receive audio signalsor data from one or more media sources (e.g., one or more remoteservers, one or more local devices) and play back the received audiosignals or data as sound. The one or more NMDs 120 are configured toreceive spoken word commands, and the one or more control devices 130are configured to receive user input. In response to the received spokenword commands and/or user input, the media playback system 100 can playback audio via one or more of the playback devices 110. In certainembodiments, the playback devices 110 are configured to commenceplayback of media content in response to a trigger. For instance, one ormore of the playback devices 110 can be configured to play back amorning playlist upon detection of an associated trigger condition(e.g., presence of a user in a kitchen, detection of a coffee machineoperation). In some embodiments, for example, the media playback system100 is configured to play back audio from a first playback device (e.g.,the playback device 100 a) in synchrony with a second playback device(e.g., the playback device 100 b). Interactions between the playbackdevices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130 of the media playbacksystem 100 configured in accordance with the various embodiments of thedisclosure are described in greater detail below with respect to FIGS.1B-1H.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A, the environment 101 comprisesa household having several rooms, spaces, and/or playback zones,including (clockwise from upper left) a master bathroom 101 a, a masterbedroom 101 b, a second bedroom 101 c, a family room or den 101 d, anoffice 101 e, a living room 101 f, a dining room 101 g, a kitchen 101 h,and an outdoor patio 101 i. While certain embodiments and examples aredescribed below in the context of a home environment, the technologiesdescribed herein may be implemented in other types of environments. Insome embodiments, for example, the media playback system 100 can beimplemented in one or more commercial settings (e.g., a restaurant,mall, airport, hotel, a retail or other store), one or more vehicles(e.g., a sports utility vehicle, bus, car, a ship, a boat, an airplane),multiple environments (e.g., a combination of home and vehicleenvironments), and/or another suitable environment where multi-zoneaudio may be desirable.

The media playback system 100 can comprise one or more playback zones,some of which may correspond to the rooms in the environment 101. Themedia playback system 100 can be established with one or more playbackzones, after which additional zones may be added, or removed to form,for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 1A. Each zone may be givena name according to a different room or space such as the office 101 e,master bathroom 101 a, master bedroom 101 b, the second bedroom 101 c,kitchen 101 h, dining room 101 g, living room 101 f, and/or the outdoorpatio 101 i. In some aspects, a single playback zone may includemultiple rooms or spaces. In certain aspects, a single room or space mayinclude multiple playback zones.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A, the master bathroom 101 a, thesecond bedroom 101 c, the office 101 e, the living room 101 f, thedining room 101 g, the kitchen 101 h, and the outdoor patio 101 i eachinclude one playback device 110, and the master bedroom 101 b and theden 101 d include a plurality of playback devices 110. In the masterbedroom 101 b, the playback devices 110 l and 110 m may be configured,for example, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual onesof playback devices 110, as a bonded playback zone, as a consolidatedplayback device, and/or any combination thereof. Similarly, in the den101 d, the playback devices 110 h-j can be configured, for instance, toplay back audio content in synchrony as individual ones of playbackdevices 110, as one or more bonded playback devices, and/or as one ormore consolidated playback devices. Additional details regarding bondedand consolidated playback devices are described below with respect toFIGS. 1B and 1E.

In some aspects, one or more of the playback zones in the environment101 may each be playing different audio content. For instance, a usermay be grilling on the patio 101 i and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 110 c while another user is preparing foodin the kitchen 101 h and listening to classical music played by theplayback device 110 b. In another example, a playback zone may play thesame audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office 101 e listening to the playbackdevice 110 f playing back the same hip hop music being played back byplayback device 110 c on the patio 101 i. In some aspects, the playbackdevices 110 c and 110 f play back the hip hop music in synchrony suchthat the user perceives that the audio content is being playedseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) while moving betweendifferent playback zones. Additional details regarding audio playbacksynchronization among playback devices and/or zones can be found, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method forsynchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clockeddigital data processing devices,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

a. Suitable Media Playback System

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system 100 and acloud network 102. For ease of illustration, certain devices of themedia playback system 100 and the cloud network 102 are omitted fromFIG. 1B. One or more communication links 103 (referred to hereinafter as“the links 103”) communicatively couple the media playback system 100and the cloud network 102.

The links 103 can comprise, for example, one or more wired networks, oneor more wireless networks, one or more wide area networks (WAN), one ormore local area networks (LAN), one or more personal area networks(PAN), one or more telecommunication networks (e.g., one or more GlobalSystem for Mobiles (GSM) networks, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)networks, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, 5G communication networknetworks, and/or other suitable data transmission protocol networks),etc. The cloud network 102 is configured to deliver media content (e.g.,audio content, video content, photographs, social media content) to themedia playback system 100 in response to a request transmitted from themedia playback system 100 via the links 103. In some embodiments, thecloud network 102 is further configured to receive data (e.g. voiceinput data) from the media playback system 100 and correspondinglytransmit commands and/or media content to the media playback system 100.

The cloud network 102 comprises computing devices 106 (identifiedseparately as a first computing device 106 a, a second computing device106 b, and a third computing device 106 c). The computing devices 106can comprise individual computers or servers, such as, for example, amedia streaming service server storing audio and/or other media content,a voice service server, a social media server, a media playback systemcontrol server, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the computingdevices 106 comprise modules of a single computer or server. In certainembodiments, one or more of the computing devices 106 comprise one ormore modules, computers, and/or servers. Moreover, while the cloudnetwork 102 is described above in the context of a single cloud network,in some embodiments the cloud network 102 comprises a plurality of cloudnetworks comprising communicatively coupled computing devices.Furthermore, while the cloud network 102 is shown in FIG. 1B as havingthree of the computing devices 106, in some embodiments, the cloudnetwork 102 comprises fewer (or more than) three computing devices 106.

The media playback system 100 is configured to receive media contentfrom the networks 102 via the links 103. The received media content cancomprise, for example, a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and/or aUniform Resource Locator (URL). For instance, in some examples, themedia playback system 100 can stream, download, or otherwise obtain datafrom a URI or a URL corresponding to the received media content. Anetwork 104 communicatively couples the links 103 and at least a portionof the devices (e.g., one or more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120,and/or control devices 130) of the media playback system 100. Thenetwork 104 can include, for example, a wireless network (e.g., a WiFinetwork, a Bluetooth, a Z-Wave network, a ZigBee, and/or other suitablewireless communication protocol network) and/or a wired network (e.g., anetwork comprising Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or anothersuitable wired communication). As those of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate, as used herein, “WiFi” can refer to several differentcommunication protocols including, for example, Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj,802.11aq, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.15, etc. transmitted at 2.4 Gigahertz(GHz), 5 GHz, and/or another suitable frequency.

In some embodiments, the network 104 comprises a dedicated communicationnetwork that the media playback system 100 uses to transmit messagesbetween individual devices and/or to transmit media content to and frommedia content sources (e.g., one or more of the computing devices 106).In certain embodiments, the network 104 is configured to be accessibleonly to devices in the media playback system 100, thereby reducinginterference and competition with other household devices. In otherembodiments, however, the network 104 comprises an existing householdcommunication network (e.g., a household WiFi network). In someembodiments, the links 103 and the network 104 comprise one or more ofthe same networks. In some aspects, for example, the links 103 and thenetwork 104 comprise a telecommunication network (e.g., an LTE network,a 5G network). Moreover, in some embodiments, the media playback system100 is implemented without the network 104, and devices comprising themedia playback system 100 can communicate with each other, for example,via one or more direct connections, PANs, telecommunication networks,and/or other suitable communication links.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, forexample, the media playback system 100 performs an indexing of mediaitems when one or more media content sources are updated, added to,and/or removed from the media playback system 100. The media playbacksystem 100 can scan identifiable media items in some or all foldersand/or directories accessible to the playback devices 110, and generateor update a media content database comprising metadata (e.g., title,artist, album, track length) and other associated information (e.g.,URIs, URLs) for each identifiable media item found. In some embodiments,for example, the media content database is stored on one or more of theplayback devices 110, network microphone devices 120, and/or controldevices 130.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B, the playback devices 110 l and110 m comprise a group 107 a. The playback devices 110 l and 110 m canbe positioned in different rooms in a household and be grouped togetherin the group 107 a on a temporary or permanent basis based on user inputreceived at the control device 130 a and/or another control device 130in the media playback system 100. When arranged in the group 107 a, theplayback devices 110 l and 110 m can be configured to play back the sameor similar audio content in synchrony from one or more audio contentsources. In certain embodiments, for example, the group 107 a comprisesa bonded zone in which the playback devices 110 l and 110 m compriseleft audio and right audio channels, respectively, of multi-channelaudio content, thereby producing or enhancing a stereo effect of theaudio content. In some embodiments, the group 107 a includes additionalplayback devices 110. In other embodiments, however, the media playbacksystem 100 omits the group 107 a and/or other grouped arrangements ofthe playback devices 110.

The media playback system 100 includes the NMDs 120 a and 120 d, eachcomprising one or more microphones configured to receive voiceutterances from a user. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B, theNMD 120 a is a standalone device and the NMD 120 d is integrated intothe playback device 110 n. The NMD 120 a, for example, is configured toreceive voice input 121 from a user 123. In some embodiments, the NMD120 a transmits data associated with the received voice input 121 to avoice assistant service (VAS) configured to (i) process the receivedvoice input data and (ii) transmit a corresponding command to the mediaplayback system 100. In some aspects, for example, the computing device106 c comprises one or more modules and/or servers of a VAS (e.g., a VASoperated by one or more of SONOS®, AMAZON®, GOOGLE® APPLE®, MICROSOFT®).The computing device 106 c can receive the voice input data from the NMD120 a via the network 104 and the links 103. In response to receivingthe voice input data, the computing device 106 c processes the voiceinput data (i.e., “Play Hey Jude by The Beatles”), and determines thatthe processed voice input includes a command to play a song (e.g., “HeyJude”). The computing device 106 c accordingly transmits commands to themedia playback system 100 to play back “Hey Jude” by the Beatles from asuitable media service (e.g., via one or more of the computing devices106) on one or more of the playback devices 110.

b. Suitable Playback Devices

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of the playback device 110 a comprising aninput/output 111. The input/output 111 can include an analog I/O 111 a(e.g., one or more wires, cables, and/or other suitable communicationlinks configured to carry analog signals) and/or a digital I/O 111 b(e.g., one or more wires, cables, or other suitable communication linksconfigured to carry digital signals). In some embodiments, the analogI/O 111 a is an audio line-in input connection comprising, for example,an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection. In some embodiments,the digital I/O 111 b comprises a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format(S/PDIF) communication interface and/or cable and/or a Toshiba Link(TOSLINK) cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b comprises anHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface and/or cable. Insome embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b includes one or more wirelesscommunication links comprising, for example, a radio frequency (RF),infrared, WiFi, Bluetooth, or another suitable communication protocol.In certain embodiments, the analog I/O 111 a and the digital I/O 111 bcomprise interfaces (e.g., ports, plugs, jacks) configured to receiveconnectors of cables transmitting analog and digital signals,respectively, without necessarily including cables.

The playback device 110 a, for example, can receive media content (e.g.,audio content comprising music and/or other sounds) from a local audiosource 105 via the input/output 111 (e.g., a cable, a wire, a PAN, aBluetooth connection, an ad hoc wired or wireless communication network,and/or another suitable communication link). The local audio source 105can comprise, for example, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, atablet, a laptop computer) or another suitable audio component (e.g., atelevision, a desktop computer, an amplifier, a phonograph, a Blu-rayplayer, a memory storing digital media files). In some aspects, thelocal audio source 105 includes local music libraries on a smartphone, acomputer, a networked-attached storage (NAS), and/or another suitabledevice configured to store media files. In certain embodiments, one ormore of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130comprise the local audio source 105. In other embodiments, however, themedia playback system omits the local audio source 105 altogether. Insome embodiments, the playback device 110 a does not include aninput/output 111 and receives all audio content via the network 104.

The playback device 110 a further comprises electronics 112, a userinterface 113 (e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitivesurfaces, displays, touchscreens), and one or more transducers 114(referred to hereinafter as “the transducers 114”). The electronics 112is configured to receive audio from an audio source (e.g., the localaudio source 105) via the input/output 111, one or more of the computingdevices 106 a-c via the network 104 (FIG. 1B)), amplify the receivedaudio, and output the amplified audio for playback via one or more ofthe transducers 114. In some embodiments, the playback device 110 aoptionally includes one or more microphones 115 (e.g., a singlemicrophone, a plurality of microphones, a microphone array) (hereinafterreferred to as “the microphones 115”). In certain embodiments, forexample, the playback device 110 a having one or more of the optionalmicrophones 115 can operate as an NMD configured to receive voice inputfrom a user and correspondingly perform one or more operations based onthe received voice input.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1C, the electronics 112 compriseone or more processors 112 a (referred to hereinafter as “the processors112 a”), memory 112 b, software components 112 c, a network interface112 d, one or more audio processing components 112 g (referred tohereinafter as “the audio components 112 g”), one or more audioamplifiers 112 h (referred to hereinafter as “the amplifiers 112 h”),and power 112 i (e.g., one or more power supplies, power cables, powerreceptacles, batteries, induction coils, Power-over Ethernet (POE)interfaces, and/or other suitable sources of electric power). In someembodiments, the electronics 112 optionally include one or more othercomponents 112 j (e.g., one or more sensors, video displays,touchscreens, battery charging bases).

The processors 112 a can comprise clock-driven computing component(s)configured to process data, and the memory 112 b can comprise acomputer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, data storage loaded with one or more of thesoftware components 112 c) configured to store instructions forperforming various operations and/or functions. The processors 112 a areconfigured to execute the instructions stored on the memory 112 b toperform one or more of the operations. The operations can include, forexample, causing the playback device 110 a to retrieve audio data froman audio source (e.g., one or more of the computing devices 106 a-c(FIG. 1B)), and/or another one of the playback devices 110. In someembodiments, the operations further include causing the playback device110 a to send audio data to another one of the playback devices 110 aand/or another device (e.g., one of the NMDs 120). Certain embodimentsinclude operations causing the playback device 110 a to pair withanother of the one or more playback devices 110 to enable amulti-channel audio environment (e.g., a stereo pair, a bonded zone).

The processors 112 a can be further configured to perform operationscausing the playback device 110 a to synchronize playback of audiocontent with another of the one or more playback devices 110. As thoseof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, during synchronousplayback of audio content on a plurality of playback devices, a listenerwill preferably be unable to perceive time-delay differences betweenplayback of the audio content by the playback device 110 a and the otherone or more other playback devices 110. Additional details regardingaudio playback synchronization among playback devices can be found, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395, which was incorporated by referenceabove.

In some embodiments, the memory 112 b is further configured to storedata associated with the playback device 110 a, such as one or morezones and/or zone groups of which the playback device 110 a is a member,audio sources accessible to the playback device 110 a, and/or a playbackqueue that the playback device 110 a (and/or another of the one or moreplayback devices) can be associated with. The stored data can compriseone or more state variables that are periodically updated and used todescribe a state of the playback device 110 a. The memory 112 b can alsoinclude data associated with a state of one or more of the other devices(e.g., the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, control devices 130) of themedia playback system 100. In some aspects, for example, the state datais shared during predetermined intervals of time (e.g., every 5 seconds,every 10 seconds, every 60 seconds) among at least a portion of thedevices of the media playback system 100, so that one or more of thedevices have the most recent data associated with the media playbacksystem 100.

The network interface 112 d is configured to facilitate a transmissionof data between the playback device 110 a and one or more other deviceson a data network such as, for example, the links 103 and/or the network104 (FIG. 1B). The network interface 112 d is configured to transmit andreceive data corresponding to media content (e.g., audio content, videocontent, text, photographs) and other signals (e.g., non-transitorysignals) comprising digital packet data including an Internet Protocol(IP)-based source address and/or an IP-based destination address. Thenetwork interface 112 d can parse the digital packet data such that theelectronics 112 properly receives and processes the data destined forthe playback device 110 a.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1C, the network interface 112 dcomprises one or more wireless interfaces 112 e (referred to hereinafteras “the wireless interface 112 e”). The wireless interface 112 e (e.g.,a suitable interface comprising one or more antennae) can be configuredto wirelessly communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., one ormore of the other playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices130) that are communicatively coupled to the network 104 (FIG. 1B) inaccordance with a suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., WiFi,Bluetooth, LTE). In some embodiments, the network interface 112 doptionally includes a wired interface 112 f (e.g., an interface orreceptacle configured to receive a network cable such as an Ethernet, aUSB-A, USB-C, and/or Thunderbolt cable) configured to communicate over awired connection with other devices in accordance with a suitable wiredcommunication protocol. In certain embodiments, the network interface112 d includes the wired interface 112 f and excludes the wirelessinterface 112 e. In some embodiments, the electronics 112 excludes thenetwork interface 112 d altogether and transmits and receives mediacontent and/or other data via another communication path (e.g., theinput/output 111).

The audio components 112 g are configured to process and/or filter datacomprising media content received by the electronics 112 (e.g., via theinput/output 111 and/or the network interface 112 d) to produce outputaudio signals. In some embodiments, the audio processing components 112g comprise, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC),audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, a digitalsignal processors (DSPs), and/or other suitable audio processingcomponents, modules, circuits, etc. In certain embodiments, one or moreof the audio processing components 112 g can comprise one or moresubcomponents of the processors 112 a. In some embodiments, theelectronics 112 omits the audio processing components 112 g. In someaspects, for example, the processors 112 a execute instructions storedon the memory 112 b to perform audio processing operations to producethe output audio signals.

The amplifiers 112 h are configured to receive and amplify the audiooutput signals produced by the audio processing components 112 g and/orthe processors 112 a. The amplifiers 112 h can comprise electronicdevices and/or components configured to amplify audio signals to levelssufficient for driving one or more of the transducers 114. In someembodiments, for example, the amplifiers 112 h include one or moreswitching or class-D power amplifiers. In other embodiments, however,the amplifiers include one or more other types of power amplifiers(e.g., linear gain power amplifiers, class-A amplifiers, class-Bamplifiers, class-AB amplifiers, class-C amplifiers, class-D amplifiers,class-E amplifiers, class-F amplifiers, class-G and/or class Hamplifiers, and/or another suitable type of power amplifier). In certainembodiments, the amplifiers 112 h comprise a suitable combination of twoor more of the foregoing types of power amplifiers. Moreover, in someembodiments, individual ones of the amplifiers 112 h correspond toindividual ones of the transducers 114. In other embodiments, however,the electronics 112 includes a single one of the amplifiers 112 hconfigured to output amplified audio signals to a plurality of thetransducers 114. In some other embodiments, the electronics 112 omitsthe amplifiers 112 h.

The transducers 114 (e.g., one or more speakers and/or speaker drivers)receive the amplified audio signals from the amplifier 112 h and renderor output the amplified audio signals as sound (e.g., audible soundwaves having a frequency between about 20 Hertz (Hz) and 20 kilohertz(kHz)). In some embodiments, the transducers 114 can comprise a singletransducer. In other embodiments, however, the transducers 114 comprisea plurality of audio transducers. In some embodiments, the transducers114 comprise more than one type of transducer. For example, thetransducers 114 can include one or more low frequency transducers (e.g.,subwoofers, woofers), mid-range frequency transducers (e.g., mid-rangetransducers, mid-woofers), and one or more high frequency transducers(e.g., one or more tweeters). As used herein, “low frequency” cangenerally refer to audible frequencies below about 500 Hz, “mid-rangefrequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies between about 500Hz and about 2 kHz, and “high frequency” can generally refer to audiblefrequencies above 2 kHz. In certain embodiments, however, one or more ofthe transducers 114 comprise transducers that do not adhere to theforegoing frequency ranges. For example, one of the transducers 114 maycomprise a mid-woofer transducer configured to output sound atfrequencies between about 200 Hz and about 5 kHz.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including, for example, a “SONOS ONE,”“PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,” “PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “PLAYBASE,” “CONNECT:AMP,”“CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Other suitable playback devices may additionallyor alternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, one of ordinary skilled inthe art will appreciate that a playback device is not limited to theexamples described herein or to SONOS product offerings. In someembodiments, for example, one or more playback devices 110 compriseswired or wireless headphones (e.g., over-the-ear headphones, on-earheadphones, in-ear earphones). In other embodiments, one or more of theplayback devices 110 comprise a docking station and/or an interfaceconfigured to interact with a docking station for personal mobile mediaplayback devices. In certain embodiments, a playback device may beintegral to another device or component such as a television, a lightingfixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use. In someembodiments, a playback device omits a user interface and/or one or moretransducers. For example, FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playbackdevice 110 p comprising the input/output 111 and electronics 112 withoutthe user interface 113 or transducers 114.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a bonded playback device 110 q comprisingthe playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C) sonically bonded with the playbackdevice 110 i (e.g., a subwoofer) (FIG. 1A). In the illustratedembodiment, the playback devices 110 a and 110 i are separate ones ofthe playback devices 110 housed in separate enclosures. In someembodiments, however, the bonded playback device 110 q comprises asingle enclosure housing both the playback devices 110 a and 110 i. Thebonded playback device 110 q can be configured to process and reproducesound differently than an unbonded playback device (e.g., the playbackdevice 110 a of FIG. 1C) and/or paired or bonded playback devices (e.g.,the playback devices 110 l and 110 m of FIG. 1B). In some embodiments,for example, the playback device 110 a is full-range playback deviceconfigured to render low frequency, mid-range frequency, and highfrequency audio content, and the playback device 110 i is a subwooferconfigured to render low frequency audio content. In some aspects, theplayback device 110 a, when bonded with the first playback device, isconfigured to render only the mid-range and high frequency components ofa particular audio content, while the playback device 110 i renders thelow frequency component of the particular audio content. In someembodiments, the bonded playback device 110 q includes additionalplayback devices and/or another bonded playback device.

c. Suitable Network Microphone Devices (NMDs)

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of the NMD 120 a (FIGS. 1A and 1B). The NMD120 a includes one or more voice processing components 124 (hereinafter“the voice components 124”) and several components described withrespect to the playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C) including the processors112 a, the memory 112 b, and the microphones 115. The NMD 120 aoptionally comprises other components also included in the playbackdevice 110 a (FIG. 1C), such as the user interface 113 and/or thetransducers 114. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 a is configured as amedia playback device (e.g., one or more of the playback devices 110),and further includes, for example, one or more of the audio components112 g (FIG. 1C), the amplifiers 112 h, and/or other playback devicecomponents. In certain embodiments, the NMD 120 a comprises an Internetof Things (IoT) device such as, for example, a thermostat, alarm panel,fire and/or smoke detector, etc. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 acomprises the microphones 115, the voice processing 124, and only aportion of the components of the electronics 112 described above withrespect to FIG. 1B. In some aspects, for example, the NMD 120 a includesthe processor 112 a and the memory 112 b (FIG. 1B), while omitting oneor more other components of the electronics 112. In some embodiments,the NMD 120 a includes additional components (e.g., one or more sensors,cameras, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers).

In some embodiments, an NMD can be integrated into a playback device.FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device 110 r comprising an NMD120 d. The playback device 110 r can comprise many or all of thecomponents of the playback device 110 a and further include themicrophones 115 and voice processing 124 (FIG. 1F). The playback device110 r optionally includes an integrated control device 130 c. Thecontrol device 130 c can comprise, for example, a user interface (e.g.,the user interface 113 of FIG. 1B) configured to receive user input(e.g., touch input, voice input) without a separate control device. Inother embodiments, however, the playback device 110 r receives commandsfrom another control device (e.g., the control device 130 a of FIG. 1B).

Referring again to FIG. 1F, the microphones 115 are configured toacquire, capture, and/or receive sound from an environment (e.g., theenvironment 101 of FIG. 1A) and/or a room in which the NMD 120 a ispositioned. The received sound can include, for example, vocalutterances, audio played back by the NMD 120 a and/or another playbackdevice, background voices, ambient sounds, etc. The microphones 115convert the received sound into electrical signals to produce microphonedata. The voice processing 124 receives and analyzes the microphone datato determine whether a voice input is present in the microphone data.The voice input can comprise, for example, an activation word followedby an utterance including a user request. As those of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate, an activation word is a word or other audio cuethat signifying a user voice input. For instance, in querying theAMAZON® VAS, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa.” Otherexamples include “Ok, Google” for invoking the GOOGLE® VAS and “Hey,Siri” for invoking the APPLE® VAS.

After detecting the activation word, voice processing 124 monitors themicrophone data for an accompanying user request in the voice input. Theuser request may include, for example, a command to control anetwork-enabled device, such as a thermostat (e.g., NEST® thermostat),an illumination device (e.g., a PHILIPS HUE® lighting device), or amedia playback device (e.g., a Sonos® playback device). For example, auser might speak the activation word “Alexa” followed by the utterance“set the thermostat to 68 degrees” to set a temperature in a home (e.g.,the environment 101 of FIG. 1A). The user might speak the sameactivation word followed by the utterance “turn on the living room” toturn on illumination devices in a living room area of the home. The usermay similarly speak an activation word followed by a request to play aparticular song, an album, or a playlist of music on a playback devicein the home.

d. Suitable Control Devices

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of the control device 130 a(FIGS. 1A and 1B). As used herein, the term “control device” can be usedinterchangeably with “controller” or “control system.” Among otherfeatures, the control device 130 a is configured to receive user inputrelated to the media playback system 100 and, in response, cause one ormore devices in the media playback system 100 to perform an action(s) oroperation(s) corresponding to the user input. In the illustratedembodiment, the control device 130 a comprises a smartphone (e.g., aniPhone™, an Android phone) on which media playback system controllerapplication software is installed. In some embodiments, the controldevice 130 a comprises, for example, a tablet (e.g., an iPad™), acomputer (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer), and/or anothersuitable device (e.g., a television, an automobile audio head unit, anIoT device). In certain embodiments, the control device 130 a comprisesa dedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In otherembodiments, as described above with respect to FIG. 1G, the controldevice 130 a is integrated into another device in the media playbacksystem 100 (e.g., one more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/orother suitable devices configured to communicate over a network).

The control device 130 a includes electronics 132, a user interface 133,one or more speakers 134, and one or more microphones 135. Theelectronics 132 comprise one or more processors 132 a (referred tohereinafter as “the processors 132 a”), a memory 132 b, softwarecomponents 132 c, and a network interface 132 d. The processor 132 a canbe configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access,control, and configuration of the media playback system 100. The memory132 b can comprise data storage that can be loaded with one or more ofthe software components executable by the processor 132 a to performthose functions. The software components 132 c can comprise applicationsand/or other executable software configured to facilitate control of themedia playback system 100. The memory 112 b can be configured to store,for example, the software components 132 c, media playback systemcontroller application software, and/or other data associated with themedia playback system 100 and the user.

The network interface 132 d is configured to facilitate networkcommunications between the control device 130 a and one or more otherdevices in the media playback system 100, and/or one or more remotedevices. In some embodiments, the network interface 132 d is configuredto operate according to one or more suitable communication industrystandards (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G, LTE). The network interface 132 d can beconfigured, for example, to transmit data to and/or receive data fromthe playback devices 110, the NMDs 120, other ones of the controldevices 130, one of the computing devices 106 of FIG. 1B, devicescomprising one or more other media playback systems, etc. Thetransmitted and/or received data can include, for example, playbackdevice control commands, state variables, playback zone and/or zonegroup configurations. For instance, based on user input received at theuser interface 133, the network interface 132 d can transmit a playbackdevice control command (e.g., volume control, audio playback control,audio content selection) from the control device 130 a to one or more ofthe playback devices 110. The network interface 132 d can also transmitand/or receive configuration changes such as, for example,adding/removing one or more playback devices 110 to/from a zone,adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forming a bondedor consolidated player, separating one or more playback devices from abonded or consolidated player, among others.

The user interface 133 is configured to receive user input and canfacilitate ‘control of the media playback system 100. The user interface133 includes media content art 133 a (e.g., album art, lyrics, videos),a playback status indicator 133 b (e.g., an elapsed and/or remainingtime indicator), media content information region 133 c, a playbackcontrol region 133 d, and a zone indicator 133 e. The media contentinformation region 133 c can include a display of relevant information(e.g., title, artist, album, genre, release year) about media contentcurrently playing and/or media content in a queue or playlist. Theplayback control region 133 d can include selectable (e.g., via touchinput and/or via a cursor or another suitable selector) icons to causeone or more playback devices in a selected playback zone or zone groupto perform playback actions such as, for example, play or pause, fastforward, rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shufflemode, enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode, etc. Theplayback control region 133 d may also include selectable icons tomodify equalization settings, playback volume, and/or other suitableplayback actions. In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface 133comprises a display presented on a touch screen interface of asmartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone). In some embodiments,however, user interfaces of varying formats, styles, and interactivesequences may alternatively be implemented on one or more networkdevices to provide comparable control access to a media playback system.

The one or more speakers 134 (e.g., one or more transducers) can beconfigured to output sound to the user of the control device 130 a. Insome embodiments, the one or more speakers comprise individualtransducers configured to correspondingly output low frequencies,mid-range frequencies, and/or high frequencies. In some aspects, forexample, the control device 130 a is configured as a playback device(e.g., one of the playback devices 110). Similarly, in some embodimentsthe control device 130 a is configured as an NMD (e.g., one of the NMDs120), receiving voice commands and other sounds via the one or moremicrophones 135.

The one or more microphones 135 can comprise, for example, one or morecondenser microphones, electret condenser microphones, dynamicmicrophones, and/or other suitable types of microphones or transducers.In some embodiments, two or more of the microphones 135 are arranged tocapture location information of an audio source (e.g., voice, audiblesound) and/or configured to facilitate filtering of background noise.Moreover, in certain embodiments, the control device 130 a is configuredto operate as playback device and an NMD. In other embodiments, however,the control device 130 a omits the one or more speakers 134 and/or theone or more microphones 135. For instance, the control device 130 a maycomprise a device (e.g., a thermostat, an IoT device, a network device)comprising a portion of the electronics 132 and the user interface 133(e.g., a touch screen) without any speakers or microphones.

III. Example Audio Notification Playback

As indicated above, examples described herein relate to exampletechniques for playback devices to output audio notifications or alertcommunications from network-enabled devices.

FIG. 2 depicts an example environment 201 in which a playback device 210outputs audio alerts from one or more network-enabled devices 240 a, 240b, 240 c, and 240 d (collectively referred to as network-enabled devices240).

The playback device 210 may be similar or equivalent to any of theplayback devices 110 depicted in FIGS. 1A-1E and 1G. As such, theplayback device 210 includes an audio stage having an amplifierconfigured to receive audio signals and output the received audiosignals as sound by driving one or more transducers, such as one or morespeakers. In some examples, the playback device 210 includes one or moretransducers, and the speaker drivers output the audio signals as soundby driving the transducers of the playback device 210. In otherexamples, the playback device 210 is coupled to externally connectedtransducers, such as passive speakers, and the speaker drivers outputthe audio signals as sound by driving the externally connectedtransducers.

The network-enabled devices 240 represent various different types ofdevices configured to communicate with other devices over a network, andare sometimes referred to as “smart devices” or “IoT devices.” Thenetwork-enabled devices 240 can include third-party devices provided bya manufacturer or vendor that is different from the manufacturer orvendor of the playback device 210. For instance, in examples where theplayback device 210 is a playback device manufactured by Sonos®, athird-party network-enabled device 240 can include any non-Sonos® smartdevice.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the environment 201 includes a network-enableddoorbell 240 a (e.g., a Nest® Hello or a Ring® Video Doorbell), anetwork-enabled thermostat 240 b (e.g., a Nest® Learning Thermostat oran Ecobee® thermostat), a network-enabled robotic vacuum 240 c (e.g., aniRobot® Roomba or a Neato® Botvac), and a network-enabled oven 240 d(e.g., a GE® smart oven or a Whirlpool® smart range). While examplenetwork-enabled devices 240 are illustrative, in other examples, thenetwork-enabled devices 240 can include additional, fewer, and/orvarious other types of smart devices, including, but not limited to,smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, security systems, cameras,lighting systems, and various types of smart appliances, such asrefrigerators, microwave ovens, dishwashers, laundry machines, and thelike.

The network-enabled devices 240 are configured to generate alerts upondetecting various events. For instance, the doorbell 240 a may generatean alert responsive to detecting the presence of an individual at thedoor, such as by determining that the individual has interacted with auser interface of the doorbell (e.g., detecting a button press ortouchscreen interaction) or by using a camera or motion sensor of thedoorbell 240 a to detect the individual's presence. The thermostat 240 bmay generate an alert responsive to determining that the environment 201has reached a threshold high or low temperature or responsive toactivating or deactivating an HVAC system of the environment 201. Therobotic vacuum 240 c may generate an alert responsive to starting orfinishing a cleaning cycle. The oven 240 d may generate an alertresponsive to reaching a threshold temperature or determining that acook timer has expired. These alert examples are illustrative, and inother examples the network-enabled devices 240 may generate additional,fewer, or different types of alerts.

The network-enabled devices 240 provide the generated alerts to a user.In some cases, the network-enabled devices 240 provide the generatedalerts to the user by causing the user's mobile device to output anaudio and/or visual notification of the generated alert. For instance,the network-enabled device 240 can cause a control device 230 to displaya notification of the generated alert. The control device 230 may besimilar or equivalent to the control device 130 a depicted in FIGS. 1A,1B, and 1H and may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptopcomputer, or the like.

In some circumstances, the user may prefer to be notified via a mediaplayback system. For example, the user may prefer to be alerted ofhigh-priority events from certain types of devices such as alarms (e.g.,smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm) via the media playback system.

In some circumstances, the user might not be effectively notified via amobile device. For instance, the mobile device may be control device230, and the user might not receive the notification of the generatedalerts output by the control device 230, as the user may have poweredoff or silenced the control device 230, or the control device 230 mayhave powered itself off responsive to low battery power. As anotherexample, the playback device 210 may be playing back music or otheraudio content that drowns out or otherwise distracts the user from thealert notifications output by the control device 230.

In order to output audio notifications of the network-enabled devicealerts, the playback device 210 can be configured with an applicationprogramming interface (API) through which the network-enabled devices240 can communicate with the playback device 210. Example features ofthe API are shown and described in further detail below. However, theseAPI features are merely illustrative, and in other examples, additional,fewer, and/or different API features can be used.

A. Example API

An example API can define various parameters that the network-enableddevice 240 and/or the playback device 210 can use to facilitate causingthe playback device 210 to output an audio notification of thenetwork-enabled device alert. Table 1 shown below provides example APIparameters, each of which are explained in further detail below.However, these parameters are for illustrative purposes, and in otherexamples, the API may define additional, fewer, and/or alternativeparameters.

TABLE 1 Parameter Type id String name String appId String priorityEnumerated notification Enumerated streamUrl String httpAuthorizationString expiryMillis Integer shouldLoop Boolean status EnumeratederrorCode Error

As shown in Table 1, one example parameter defined by the API is an idparameter. The id parameter represents a string type parameter thatrepresents an identifier of a particular audio notification. In someexamples, the playback device 210 generates a value of the id parameterand assigns the value to a particular audio notification.

Another example parameter is a name parameter. The name parameterrepresents a string type parameter that represents a user-identifiablename associated with an audio notification. The user-identifiable namecan include a name of the network-enabled device 240 that generated thealert and/or a description of a type of the alert. In some examples, thenetwork-enabled device 240 specifies a value of the name parameter for aparticular audio notification.

Another example parameter is an appId parameter. The appId parameterrepresents a string type parameter that identifies an application thatgenerated a particular audio notification. As shown, the appId parameteris a reversed Internet domain associated with the application, such as“com.acme.app,” where “acme.com” is the domain prior to reversal. Inother examples, the appId parameter can take various other forms.

Another example parameter is a priority parameter. The priorityparameter represents an enumerated type parameter that specifies apriority of an audio notification. In some examples, the priorityparameter comprises enumerated values of “LOW” or “HIGH” forrespectively setting the priority as low or high, but in other examples,the priority parameter may comprise additional or different enumeratedvalues. For instance, the priority parameter may indicate priority levelon a numerical scale (e.g., 1-5). In some examples, the network-enableddevice 240 sets the value of the priority parameter for a particularaudio notification. In other examples, the playback device 210 sets thevalue of the playback parameter based on the type of network-enableddevice 240 that generated the alert corresponding to the audionotification. In yet another example, the user may indicate via a userinterface the priority to assign to a particular alert from thenetwork-enabled device 240.

The network-enabled devices 240 can set the priority parameter to “HIGH”for audio notifications that correspond to network-enabled device alertsthat are particularly time-sensitive, and “LOW” for audio notificationsthat are less time-sensitive. Time-sensitive audio notifications arealerts that are to be played back as closely as possible to the eventtriggering the audio notification. Example high priority alerts mayinclude, but are not limited to, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms,oven timers, and security alarms. Example low priority alerts mayinclude, but are not limited to, doorbells, phone calls, completedlaundry cycle, motion detectors, and preheated ovens. And, as explainedin further detail below with respect to FIGS. 4A-4D, the playback device210 is configured to play back audio notifications in a certain waybased on their specified priority.

Another example parameter is a notification parameter. The notificationparameter represents an enumerated type parameter that specifies aparticular audio source that the playback device 210 outputs as thenetwork-enabled device alert notification. In some examples, thenotification parameter comprises enumerated values of (i) “CHIME” which,when set as the notification enumerated value, causes the playbackdevice 210 to output a default chime audio notification as thenetwork-enabled device alert notification, and (ii) “CUSTOM” which, whenset as the notification enumerated value, causes the playback device 210to output a custom audio notification as the network-enabled devicealert notification. In other examples, the notification enumeratedvalues may comprise additional or different values. The audio for thedefault chime audio notification may be stored in the memory of playbackdevice, while the audio for the custom audio notification may bespecified by the network-enabled device, as explained in further detailbelow.

Another example parameter is a streamUrl parameter. The streamUrlparameter represents a string type parameter that specifies a URL of anaudio source for the playback device 210 to output as the custom audionotification as the third-part alert notification. As such, when thenotification parameter is set as “CUSTOM,” the playback device 210 canretrieve the audio source from the URL specified as the streamUrlparameter, and can play back the retrieved audio source as thenetwork-enabled devicealert notification.

Another example parameter is an httpAuthorization parameter. ThehttpAuthorization parameter represents a string type parameter thatspecifies credentials for authorizing access to the URL specified by thestreamUrl parameter when the specified URL requires authentication, suchas when the specified URL is secure (e.g., using https).

Another example parameter is an expiryMillis parameter. The expiryMillisparameter represents an integer type parameter that indicates how long aparticular audio notification is permitted to be queued in anotification queue for playback before dismissing the audio notificationfrom notification queue. In the present example, the value of theexpiryMillis parameter specifies such a time limit in milliseconds, butother example implementations are possible as well.

Another example parameter is a shouldLoop parameter. The shouldLoopparameter can be a Boolean type parameter that specifies whether theplayback device 210 should loop the playback of a particular audionotification. If the shouldLoop parameter is set as “FALSE,” then theplayback device 210 plays back the audio notification once. If theshouldLoop parameter is set as “TRUE,” then the playback device 210loops playback of the audio notification for a predetermined amount oftime. The predetermined amount of time may depend on the priority valueof the audio notification. For instance, the playback device 210 may beconfigured to loop playback of high priority audio notifications for alonger predetermined amount of time than low priority audionotifications.

Another example parameter is a status parameter. The status parametercan be an enumerated type parameter that identifies a current status ofa particular audio notification. In an example, the status parameterenumerated values include (i) “PENDING” for audio notifications that arescheduled for playback but are not currently being played back, (ii)“ACTIVE” for audio notifications that are currently being played back,and (iii) “DISMISSED” for audio notifications that have been dismissed.In other examples, the status parameter enumerated values may compriseadditional or different values.

Another example parameter is an errorCode parameter. The errorCodeparameter represents an error type parameter to which the playbackdevice 210 assigns a particular value responsive to detecting aparticular error condition. Example error values include (i)“ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_DO_NOT_DISTURB,” which the playback device 210 canassign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that theplayback device 210 is in a “do not disturb” mode that temporarilydisables audio notification playback, (ii)“ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_ID_NOT_FOUND,” which the playback device 210 canassign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that theplayback device 210 is unable to retrieve the specified audio source forthe audio notification (e.g., the audio source identified by thestreamUrl parameter), (iii) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_MEDIA_ERROR,” which theplayback device 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive todetermining that the specified audio source for the audio notificationis a type of media that is unsupported for playback by the playbackdevice 210, (iv) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_CANCEL,” which the playback device210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining thatthe audio notification has been canceled prior to playing back thenotification, and (v) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_EXPIRE,” which the playbackdevice 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive todetermining that the audio notification has expired prior to playingback the notification (e.g., determining that the time specified by theexpiryMillis parameter has elapsed before playback). In other examples,the playback device 210 can assign additional or different values to theerrorCode parameter responsive to detecting additional or differenterror conditions.

B. Example Use of the API

Using the above-described API, the network-enabled devices 240 cancommunicate with the playback device 210 to cause the playback device210 to output an audio notification of one or more alerts generated bythe network-enabled devices 240 or to perform various other functionsrelated to the audio notification.

The network-enabled devices 240 can be connected to the same network(e.g., local area network, Bluetooth®) as the media playback system ofplayback device 210. The network-enabled devices 240 can communicatedirectly with the playback device 210 over the network, or thenetwork-enabled devices 240 can communicate with the playback device 210via one or more intermediary computing devices, such as the computingdevices 206 shown in FIG. 2 . For instance, in some examples, thecomputing devices 206 include a third-party server affiliated with oneor more of the network-enabled devices 240 as well as a first-partyserver affiliated with the playback device 210. In such examples, thenetwork-enabled devices 240 can communicate with the playback device 210by sending a communication to the third-party server over a wide areanetwork (WAN), which then sends the communication to the first-partyserver, which then sends the communication to the playback device 210over a WAN. Similarly, the playback device 210 can communicate with oneor more of the network-enabled devices 240 by sending a communication tothe first-party server, which then sends the communication to thethird-party server, which in turn sends the communication to thenetwork-enabled device 240. Other examples are possible as well.

Using one or more servers as intermediaries between the playback device210 and the network-enabled devices 240 may have various advantages.Such servers may be more reliably connected to the playback device 210and/or the network-enabled devices 240, as such computing devices mayhave a static network address (or domain) whereas individual devices mayhave dynamic addresses. Further, such servers may implement additionalcloud services, such as backup or logging of notifications. Yet further,security may be enhanced.

FIG. 3A shows an example alert message 300 that the network-enableddevices 240 can send to the playback device 210 to cause or request theplayback device 210 to output an audio notification of an alert. Thealert message 300 includes a header portion 302 and a body portion 304.

In the header 302, the network-enabled device 240 specifies a commandfor the playback device 210 to execute, as well as identifiersspecifying which playback device 210 is to carry out the command. Inthis manner, the network-enabled device 240 can specify certain speakersto play back alert notifications, which can improve user experience. Forinstance, the oven 240 d is located in a kitchen, so the oven 240 d canspecify that the playback device 210, which is also located in thekitchen, is to play back the alert notification from the oven 240 d. Asshown, the header 302 specifies that the playback device 210 that isnamed “xyz” and located in household “ABCD1234” is to execute a“loadAudioClip” command. The specified playback device 210 can be astandalone playback device or a playback device that is grouped with oneor more other playback devices (e.g., a playback device grouped in asurround sound configuration, including rear channel speakers).

In some examples, the alert message 300 may address multiple playbackdevices (e.g., all networked playback devices on a given network). Forinstance, in an example, the header 302 does not specify a particularplayback device 210 for carrying out the command to play back an audionotification, so as to address any playback device 210 receiving thealert message 300. In this case, if multiple playback devices receivethe notification, all of these networked playback devices concurrentlyplay back the notification. As another example, the alert message 300can specify multiple playback devices to play back the audionotification, and the playback device 210 receiving the alert message300 can synchronize playback of the audio notification across thespecified playback devices. As yet another example, the alert message300 can specify that the audio notification is to be played back acrossgrouped playback devices, and the playback device 210 receiving thealert message 300 can synchronize playback of the audio notificationacross any playback devices grouped with the playback device 210. Otherexamples are possible as well.

The body 304 of the alert message 300 specifies various parameter valuesthat the playback device 210 uses when executing the “loadAudioClip”command, including values for the name, appId, priority, notification,streamUrl, and expiryMillis parameters, each of which is described abovein further detail. As shown in FIG. 3A, the alert message 300 causes theplayback device 210 to play back a low priority alert notificationgenerated by a network-enabled device 240 associated with an applicationnamed “Example.” The alert message 300 further specifies that, whenplaying back this notification, the playback device 210 will output acustom audio signal that is retrieved from a particular URI or URL suchas http://example.com/notification.mp3. Additionally, based on theexpiryMillis parameter being set to 2000, the playback device 210 willcancel playback of the notification if 2000 milliseconds (or 2 seconds)elapse before the playback device 210 begins playing back thenotification.

Responsive to receiving the alert message 300 from the network-enableddevice 240, the playback device 210 sends, to the network-enabled device240, response message 310 that acknowledges receipt of the alert message300 and provides a status of the notification. Similar to the alertmessage 300, the response message 310 includes a header portion 312 anda body portion 314. In the header 312, the playback device 210 specifiesthat the response message 310 is provided in response to theloadAudioClip command provided by the network-enabled device 240 andindicates that the loadAudioClip command was successfully received.

The body 314 of the response message 310 includes additional parametervalues specified by the playback device 210. For instance, the playbackdevice 210 assigns a value to the id parameter, which identifies theaudio notification requested by the alert message 300. As shown, theplayback device 210 has identified the audio notification as “NEWNOTIFICATION.” Additionally, the body 314 of the response message 310reports a status of the audio notification. As shown, the status of theaudio notification is “PENDING,” which, as noted above, means the audionotification is queued for playback by the playback device 210.

In addition to sending the response message 310, the playback device 210also takes steps to play back the audio notification requested by thealert message 300. In some examples, the playback device 210 maintains aqueue of notifications, and the playback device plays back the queuednotifications according to their order in the notification queue. Insuch examples, responsive to receiving the alert message 300, theplayback device 210 adds the audio notification identified by the alertmessage 300 into the notification queue.

The playback device 210 can organize the notification queue based onvarious characteristics of the notifications in the queue. For instance,the playback device 210 can arrange high priority notifications at ornear the top of the notification queue and low priority notifications ator near the bottom of the notification queue so that the playback device210 plays back the high priority notifications before playing back thelow priority notifications.

In some examples, the playback device 210 is configured to interrupt anactive notification in order to play back a new notification only undercertain circumstances. For instance, the playback device 210 can beconfigured such that, when the active notification is a low prioritynotification and the new notification is a high priority notification,the playback device 210 interrupts playback of the active low prioritynotification to play back the new high priority notification. On theother hand, when both the active and new notifications are high prioritynotifications, the playback device 210 can be configured to interruptthe active high priority notification with the new high prioritynotification only if the playback device 210 has been playing back theactive high priority notification for a threshold amount of time (e.g.,10 seconds). This behavior may prevent a high priority notification frombeing missed by a user. Otherwise, if the playback device 210 has notbeen playing back the active high priority notification for thethreshold amount of time, then the playback device 210 adds the newnotification to the notification queue without interrupting playback ofthe active notification.

As another example, the playback device 210 can be configured such that,when the new notification is a low priority notification, the playbackdevice 210 does not interrupt playback of the active notification unlessthe active notification is a low priority notification that the playbackdevice 210 has been playing back for the threshold amount of time. Asyet another example, the playback device 210 can be configured suchthat, when the new notification is a low priority notification, theplayback device 210 does not interrupt playback of the activenotification, regardless of the priority of the active notification.

In addition to treating the low and high priority notificationsdifferently when adding new notifications to the notification queue, theplayback device 210 can be configured to treat low and high prioritynotifications differently when playing back the notifications. As anexample, the playback device 210 can be configured to play back highpriority notifications at a higher volume than low prioritynotifications. As another example, the playback device 210 can beconfigured to play back low and high priority notifications fordifferent lengths of time. For instance, the playback device 210 can beconfigured to limit playback of notifications to a threshold playbacktime, and once the threshold playback time has elapsed, the playbackdevice 210 dismisses playback of the notification. As such, the playbackdevice 210 can set the threshold playback time to be longer for highpriority notifications (e.g., 1 hour) than for low prioritynotifications (e.g., 1 minute).

In some examples, the notification queue is empty, such that theplayback device 210 is not playing back any notifications. Instead, theplayback device 210 can be playing back various other audio content,such as music, television audio, audiobooks, or the like. In such ascenario, when the playback device 210 receives a request from one ofthe network-enabled devices 240 to play back an alert notification(e.g., when the playback device 210 receives alert message 300), theplayback device 210 can adjust the playback of the other audio contentin order to facilitate playing back the alert notification.

As described above with respect to the example operating environment,example playback devices 110 may implement a playback queue to manageplayback of multiple items of audio content. A notification queue may beseparate and distinct from a playback queue implemented by a playbackdevice 110 for general playback of audio content. An example playbackdevice 210 may implement both a playback queue and a notification queueconcurrently. In some cases, as described in further detail below, thenotification queue may take control or otherwise modify playback fromthe playback queue.

In some examples, the playback device 210 temporarily reduces the volumeof (also referred to as “ducking”) the other audio content and playsback the alert notification concurrently with the ducked audio content.U.S. Pat. No. 9,665,341 entitled, “Synchronized audio mixing,” which ishereby incorporated by reference, provides in more detail some examplesof a playback device mixing audio content for concurrent playback. Inother examples, the playback device 210 stops playback of the otheraudio content, plays back the alert notification, and then resumesplayback of the other audio content after playing back the alertnotification.

In some examples, whether the playback device 210 ducks the other audiocontent or stops playback of the other audio content depends on whetherthe alert notification is a high priority notification or a low prioritynotification. For instance, for low priority notifications, the playbackdevice 210 can duck the other audio content and play back the lowpriority notification concurrently with the ducked audio content. Forhigh priority notifications, the playback device 210 can stop playingback the other audio content, play back the high priority notification,and then resume playing back the other audio content after playing backthe high priority notification.

In some examples, the playback device 210 provides reports to thenetwork-enabled devices 240 whenever the playback device 210 performscertain actions related to an alert notification. For instance, theplayback device 210 can send reports to the network-enabled device 240(or to the third-party server) indicating that the playback device 210has queued an alert notification for playback, is currently playing backan alert notification, has dismissed an alert notification (e.g., inresponse to user input), has interrupted an alert notification in orderto play back another alert notification, has removed an expired alertnotification from the queue, or has stopped playing back an alertnotification based on playing back the alert notification for athreshold amount of time. For a given notification, the playback device210 can provide these reports only to the network-enabled devices 240associated with notification, or the playback device 210 can providethese reports to multiple ones or all of the network-enabled devices 240that are networked with the playback device 210.

IV. Actuating a Do Not Disturb Feature

As discussed above, embodiments disclosed and described herein includeactivating and deactivating Do Not Disturb (DND) features of playbackdevices, such as the playback device 210 depicted in FIG. 2 , that areconfigured to output alert notifications from network-enabled devices(also referred to as “smart devices” and “IoT devices”), such as thenetwork-enabled devices 240 depicted in FIG. 2 . The network-enableddevices are connected to the playback devices via a network, such as auser's home network or some other local area network (LAN) or wide areanetwork (WAN). Also connected to the network is a control device, suchas the control device 230 depicted in FIG. 2 , which may be, forexample, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, or the like. Asdescribed in further detail below, the control device, playback devices,and network-enabled devices may communicate over the network to activateand/or deactivate various DND features of the playback devices.

When activated, a DND feature causes the playback device in somecircumstances to refrain from outputting alert notifications fromnetwork-enabled devices, as described herein. Within exampleimplementations, the DND feature may be (i) a local DND featureactivated on a single playback device, (ii) a group DND featureactivated across a group of playback devices (e.g., activated in one ormore playback devices of a room group, one or more playback devices of azone group, one or more playback devices of a synchrony group, one ormore playback devices of a bonded pair or bonded group, and so on), or(iii) a network DND feature activated on all playback devices in auser's home network, among other examples.

A DND feature can be activated and/or deactivated according to variousprocesses. For instance, the control device can activate a DND featureof a playback device by sending a DND activation message to the playbackdevice. The DND activation message can include information identifying anetwork-enabled device (e.g., a network address, user-assigned name,model number, serial number, manufacturer, or any other identifyinginformation) and an instruction that instructs the playback device tonot output alert notifications from the identified network-enableddevice. In other examples, the state of the DND feature (activated ordeactivated) may be maintained in a state variable. An example DNDactivation message may toggle the state of the DND feature by modifyinga DND state stored in the state variable.

Responsive to receiving the DND activation message, the playback devicecan cause itself to refrain from outputting alert notifications from theidentified network-enabled device. In some examples, the playback devicerejects alert notification messages, such as the alert message 300depicted in FIG. 3A, from the identified network-enabled device inresponse to receiving the DND activation message. In other examples, theplayback device receives and processes alert notification messages fromthe identified network-enabled device, but instead of adding alertnotifications from the network-enabled device to a notification queueand subsequently outputting the alert notifications, the playback deviceadds the alert notifications to a DND queue for playback at a latertime. For instance, the playback device can output alert notificationsfrom the DND queue after the DND feature has been deactivated. In yetother examples, the playback device receives the alert messages andsuppresses playback of the alert notification by dropping the alertnotification (e.g., not adding the alert notification to the DND queueand/or the notification queue).

The control device can deactivate a DND feature of a playback device bysending a DND deactivation message to the playback device. The DNDdeactivation message can include information identifying anetwork-enabled device (e.g., a network address, user-assigned name,model number, serial number, manufacturer, or any other identifyinginformation) and an instruction that instructs the playback device toresume outputting alert notifications from the identifiednetwork-enabled device. In some examples, the DND deactivation messagemay toggle the state of the DND feature by modifying the DND statestored in the state variable.

Responsive to receiving the DND deactivation message, the playbackdevice can cause itself to resume outputting alert notifications fromthe identified network-enabled device. In examples where the playbackdevice rejects alert notification messages while in the DND mode, theplayback device causes itself to no longer reject alert notificationmessages, such as the alert message 300 depicted in FIG. 3A, from theidentified network-enabled device in response to receiving the DNDdeactivation message. In examples where the playback device adds alertnotifications to a DND queue while in the DND mode, the playback deviceoutputs any alert notifications from the identified network-enableddevice in the DND queue in response to receiving the DND deactivationmessage.

In some examples, instead of or in addition to sending the DNDactivation and DND deactivation messages to the playback devices, thecontrol device can send similar activation and deactivation messages tothe network-enabled devices. For instance, the control device can send aDND activation message to a network-enabled device that instructs thenetwork-enabled device to not send alert notification messages, such asthe alert message 300 depicted in FIG. 3A, to one or more specificplayback devices or to all playback devices on the network.Subsequently, the control device can send a DND deactivation message tothe network-enabled device that instructs the network-enabled device toresume sending alert notification messages to one or more specificplayback devices or to all playback devices on the network.

In some examples, the DND activation message and the DND deactivationmessage are part of a single activation/deactivation message. Forinstance, the activation/deactivation message can include a specifiedstart time and a specified end time. Responsive to receiving theactivation/deactivation message, the playback device and/or thenetwork-enabled device can be configured to activate the DND feature atthe start time and deactivate the DND feature at the stop time accordingto the processes described above, for instance.

As described above in connection with FIGS. 3A and 3B, for instance, thealert notifications received by the playback devices from thenetwork-enabled devices can include high priority alert notificationsand low priority alert notifications. High priority alert notificationscan include time-sensitive alerts (e.g., smoke alarms, carbon monoxidealarms, oven timers, and security alarms) that are to be played back asclosely as possible to the event triggering the audio notification. Assuch, the playback devices can be configured so that, even when the DNDfeature is activated, the playback devices continue to play back highpriority alert notifications. In other words, high priority alertnotifications can override the current DND settings.

The control device can thus be configured to send DND activationmessages to the playback devices that instruct the playback devices tonot play back low priority alert notifications and continue to play backhigh priority alert notifications. Additionally or alternatively, thecontrol device can be configured to send DND activation messages to thenetwork-enabled devices that instruct the network-enabled devices to notsend alert notification messages, such as the alert message 300 depictedin FIG. 3A, to the playback devices for low priority alert notificationsand to continue to send alert notification messages to the playbackdevices for high priority alert notifications.

In some examples, the control device is a user's computing device (e.g.,a mobile computing device or a desktop computing device), and the usercan activate and/or deactivate a DND feature of one or more playbackdevices by interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) of thecomputing device. The computing device may be similar or equivalent tothe control device 230 depicted in FIG. 2 or the control device 130 adepicted in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1H and may be, for example, a smartphone,a tablet, a laptop computer, or the like.

FIGS. 4A-4F depict example menus of a GUI of a computing device foractivating and/or deactivating the DND feature of a playback device. Inthe below description of these example menus, various buttons aredescribed, as well as processes that are carried out responsive to auser pressing the buttons. The buttons can include physical buttons,such as keys on a keyboard, or virtual buttons, such as icons displayedon a screen. Pressing a button can involve pressing a key on a keyboard,touching an icon displayed on a touchscreen, clicking an icon with amouse, or any other user input that represents a selection of thebutton.

FIG. 4A depicts an example status menu 400 of the GUI for displaying andadjusting statuses of DND features for various playback devices in theuser's home network. The status menu 400 includes identifiers 402 a, 402b, and 402 c (collectively referred to as identifiers 402) of theplayback devices. As shown, the identifiers 402 include zone names, suchas “BEDROOM,” “DEN,” and “LIVING ROOM,” but the identifiers 402 caninclude additional, fewer, and/or different identifiers of the zones.The identifiers 402 identify zones that contain one or more playbackdevices.

As further shown in FIG. 4A, the status menu 400 includes respective DNDfeatures 404 a, 404 b, 404 c, 404 d, and 404 e (collectively referred toas DND features 404) that have been assigned for each identifiedplayback device and/or playback device group. For instance, as shown,DND features 404 a and 404 b are assigned to the BEDROOM playback devicegroup, DND feature 404 c is assigned to the DEN playback device group,and DND features 404 d and 404 e are assigned to the LIVING ROOMplayback device group.

In order to generate the status menu 400, the computing device canobtain state information indicating the DND status of playback devicesthat are networked with the computing device. The state information canidentify, for one or more playback devices or groups of playbackdevices, one or more DND features, whether the one or more DND featuresare active, and set time periods for the one or more DND features. Thestate information can be stored on the computing device, on one or moreof the playback devices (e.g., each playback device can store the stateinformation for DND features associated with itself), and/or in a cloudstorage. The computing device can retrieve the state information fromits local storage, from one or more of the playback devices, and/or fromthe cloud storage, and the computing device can generate the status menu400 based on the retrieved state information.

The DND features 404 indicate time periods during which each DND featureis configured to take effect. As shown, for instance, on weekdays DNDfeature 404 a of the BEDROOM playback device group is set to start at10:30 PM and end the following morning at 7:00 AM, and on weekends DNDfeature 404 b of the BEDROOM playback device group is set to start at6:30 PM and end the following morning at 9:00 AM.

The status menu 400 further includes enable/disable buttons 406 forenabling or disabling each of the DND features 404. By pressing arespective enable/disable button 406, the user can toggle a status ofthe respective DND feature 404 corresponding to the pressedenable/disable button 406 between an enabled status and a disabledstatus.

The status menu 400 further includes menu buttons 408 for adjusting oneor more settings of the DND features 404. Each DND feature 404 has arespective menu button 408, and in response to the user pressing a menubutton 408 of a particular DND feature 404, the GUI displays a settingsmenu for adjusting the settings of that particular DND feature 404.

FIG. 4B depicts an example settings menu 415 of the GUI for a particularDND feature 404. The settings menu 415 includes a start time input field417 and an end time input field 419. The user can input (e.g., using aphysical or virtual keyboard of the computing device), into the starttime input field 417, data representing a start time of the particularDND feature 404, and the user can input, into the end time input field419, data representing an end time of the particular DND feature 404.

The settings menu 415 further includes a day selection button 421 and aplayback device selection button 423. Responsive to the user pressingthe day selection button 421, the computing device displays a dayselection menu for the particular DND feature 404, and responsive to theuser pressing the playback device selection button 423, the GUI displaysa playback device selection menu for the particular DND feature 404.

FIG. 4C depicts an example day selection menu 430 of the GUI forselecting which days of the week the particular DND feature 404 is toapply to. The day selection menu 430 includes a list of selectable daybuttons 432 corresponding to the days of the week. The user selectswhich days the particular DND feature 404 is to apply by pressing one ormore of the day buttons 432. In response to the user pressing a daybutton 432, the day selection menu 430 displays an icon 434 on or nearthe pressed day button 432 to indicate the selection. The day selectionmenu 430 further includes a select-all button 436 that, when pressed,toggles between selecting all days or no days.

FIG. 4D depicts an example playback device selection menu 445 of the GUIfor selecting which playback devices the particular DND feature 404 isto apply to. The playback device selection menu 445 includes a list ofselectable playback device buttons 447 corresponding to various playbackdevices on the computing device's network. As shown, the playback devicebuttons 447 correspond to room groups of playback devices, but in otherexamples, the playback device buttons 447 may additionally oralternatively correspond to individual playback devices or various otherconfigurations of playback devices on the computing device's network.

The user selects which playback devices the particular DND feature 404is to apply to by pressing one or more of the playback device buttons447. In response to the user pressing a playback device button 447, theplayback device selection menu 445 displays an icon 449, which may besimilar or equivalent to icon 434, on or near the pressed playbackdevice button 447 to indicate the selection. The playback deviceselection menu 445 further includes a select-all button 451, which maybe similar or equivalent to select-all button 436, that, when pressed,toggles between selecting all playback devices or no playback devices.

Referring back to FIG. 4B, the settings menu 415 further includes adelete button 425. Responsive to the user selecting the delete button425, the computing device deletes the particular DND feature 404 andremoves the particular DND feature 404 from the status menu 400.

In some examples, the GUI allows the user to control how playbackdevices output alert notifications from specific network-enableddevices. For instance, the computing device can display anetwork-enabled device menu that displays network-enabled devices on thecomputing device's network, and the user can interact with thenetwork-enabled device menu to adjust alert notification settings foreach network-enabled device.

FIG. 4E depicts an example network-enabled device menu 460 of the GUIfor controlling how playback devices output alert notifications fromspecific network-enabled devices. The network-enabled device menu 460includes a list of selectable network-enabled device buttons 462. Asshown, each network-enabled device button 462 corresponds to andidentifies a particular network-enabled device and/or a cloud serviceprovided by the particular network-enabled device. For instance, the“Nest Doorbell” button may correspond to the smart doorbell 240 adepicted in FIG. 2 , and the “Ecobee Thermostat” button may correspondto the smart thermostat 240 b. Similarly, the “Amazon Music on iPhone X”button may correspond to music streaming cloud services provided byAmazon Music on a networked computing device named iPhone X, and the“Spotify on Pixel 2” button may correspond to music streaming cloudservices provided by Spotify on a networked computing device named Pixel2. Each network-enabled device button 462 may identify an accountassociated with the respective network-enabled device and/or cloudservice. The associated account may be the account currently logged inon the device. An assigned name or username of an account that is loggedin on the network-enabled device or cloud service can be displayed onthe respective network-enabled device button 462. For example, theusername or assigned name of the account logged into “Amazon Music oniPhone X” may be displayed on the button for “Amazon Music on iPhone X.”The assigned name can be the name given to the account when the accountis set up on the media playback system. Other examples are possible aswell.

The user can press a particular network-enabled device button 462, andresponsive to the user pressing the particular network-enabled devicebutton 462, the computing device can display an alert notification menufor controlling how playback devices output alert notifications from thenetwork-enabled device corresponding to the pressed network-enableddevice button 462.

FIG. 4F depicts an example alert notification menu 475 for controllinghow playback devices output alert notifications from a particularnetwork-enabled device. The alert notification menu 475 includes a DoNot Disturb (DND) button 477. Responsive to the user pressing the DNDbutton 477, the computing device can display a status menu, such as thestatus menu 400 depicted in FIG. 4A, that displays and allows the userto create and configure DND features for the particular network-enableddevice, for instance as described above in connection with FIGS. 4A-4D.

The alert notification menu 475 further includes a disable button 479.Responsive to the user pressing the disable button 479, the computingdevice can cause the playback devices to stop outputting alertnotifications from the particular network-enabled device entirely. Forinstance, the computing device can send a message to one or moreidentified playback devices or to all playback devices on the computingdevice's network instructing the playback devices to reject or ignorealert notifications from the particular network-enabled device.Additionally or alternatively, the computing device can send a messageto the particular network-enabled device instructing the network-enableddevice to stop sending alert notifications to the playback devices.

Based on user interaction with the GUI described above in connectionwith FIGS. 4A-4F, the computing device can activate and/or deactivateDND features of one or more playback devices. For instance, for aparticular DND feature identified by the GUI, the computing device cansend a DND activation message at the specified start time/day and a DNDdeactivation message at the specified end time/day to any playbackdevice and/or network-enabled device specified by the user via the GUIin connection with the particular DND feature. Alternatively, thecomputing device can send a DND activation/deactivation message to aplayback device when a user specifies and enables the start time and endtime of a DND feature. For instance, referring to FIG. 4A, in responseto a user activating the enable button 406 of DND feature 404 c, thecomputing device can send a message to playback devices in the DENplayback device group identifying the start and end times of DND feature404 c. And in response to receiving the message, the playback devices inthe DEN playback device group can configure themselves to activate anddeactivate DND feature 404 c at the identified start and end times.

FIG. 5 shows an example method 500 for actuating a DND feature of aplayback device that is configured to output alert notifications fromnetwork-enabled devices, for instance as described above in connectionwith FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B. Method 500 can be implemented by any of thecontrol devices and/or playback devices disclosed and/or describedherein, or any other control devices and/or playback devices now knownor later developed.

Various embodiments of method 500 include one or more operations,functions, and actions illustrated by blocks 502 through 506. Althoughthe blocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also beperformed in parallel, and/or in a different order than the orderdisclosed and described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combinedinto fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed basedupon a desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 500 and for other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of some embodiments. In this regard, each blockmay represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code, whichincludes one or more instructions executable by one or more processorsfor implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedia, for example, such as tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedia that stores data for short periods of time like register memory,processor cache, and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readablemedium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary orpersistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical ormagnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. Thecomputer readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatilestorage systems. The computer readable medium may be considered acomputer readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storagedevice. In addition, for the method 500 and for other processes andmethods disclosed herein, each block in FIG. 5 may represent circuitrythat is wired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.

Method 500 begins at block 502, which involves a mobile devicereceiving, via a graphical user interface of a mobile device, input datarepresenting a selection of at least one playback device of a pluralityof playback devices.

The mobile device is configured to communicate with the plurality ofplayback devices and a plurality of network-enabled devices on a localarea network. The plurality of playback devices are configured toreceive alert notifications, via the local area network, from theplurality of network-enabled devices, and the plurality of playbackdevices are configured to play back the alert notifications in responseto receiving the alert notifications. For instance, the playback devicescan receive and play back the alert notifications according to theprocesses described above in connection with FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B.

At block 504, method 500 involves receiving, via the graphical userinterface of the mobile device, input data representing a selection of aDo Not Disturb (DND) time period. In some examples, receiving theselection of the DND time period involves displaying, via the graphicaluser interface of the mobile device, a DND start time input field, andreceiving, via the DND start time input field, input data representing astart time of the DND time period. The method may also involvedisplaying, via the graphical user interface of the mobile device, a DNDend time input field, and receiving, via the DND end time input field,input data representing an end time of the DND time period, as describedabove in connection with FIG. 4B, for instance.

At block 506, method 500 involves sending, via the network interface, aninstruction to the selected at least one playback device that causes theselected at least one playback device to enter a DND mode for theduration of the selected DND time period, during which the selected atleast one playback device is instructed to not play back alertnotifications when the alert notifications are received from at leastone network-enabled device of the plurality of network-enabled devices.The instruction may be sent responsive to receiving the input datarepresenting the selections of the at least one playback device and theDND time period. As described above, the selected at least one playbackdevice is configured to play back alert notifications responsive toreceiving the alert notifications outside of the DND time period.

In some examples, receiving the selection of the at least one playbackdevice of the plurality of playback devices involves (i) displaying, viathe graphical user interface of the mobile device, a list of theplurality of playback devices and (ii) receiving, via the graphical userinterface of the mobile device, a selection of the at least one playbackdevice from the list of the plurality of playback devices.

Within examples, sending an instruction to the selected at least oneplayback device that causes the selected at least one playback device toenter a DND mode for the duration of the selected DND time periodinvolves sending a first instruction to the selected at least oneplayback device at a start time of the DND time period. Such a firstinstruction may cause the selected at least one playback device to enterthe DND mode. Sending the instruction may further involve sending asecond instruction to the selected at least one playback device at anend time of the DND time period. The second instruction may cause theselected at least one playback device to exit the DND mode.

In other examples, sending an instruction to the selected at least oneplayback device that causes the selected at least one playback device toenter a DND mode for the duration of the selected DND time periodinvolves sending a message to the selected at least one playback devicethat specifies a start time of the DND time period and an end time ofthe DND time period. In response to receiving the message, the at leastone playback device stores the specified start and end times and causesitself to enter the DND mode at the specified start time and exit theDND mode at the specified end time.

In some instances, the alert notifications received by the plurality ofplayback devices from the plurality of network-enabled devices comprisehigh priority alert notifications and low priority alert notifications,for instance as described above in connection with FIGS. 3A and 3B. Inthese examples, sending the instruction to the selected at least oneplayback device that causes the selected at least one playback device toenter the DND mode for the duration of the selected DND time period mayinvolve sending an instruction to the selected at least one playbackdevice that causes the selected at least one playback device to (i) notplay back the low priority alert notifications and (ii) continue to playback the high priority alert notifications.

In some examples, method 500 further involves receiving, via thegraphical user interface of the mobile device, input data representing aselection of at least one network-enabled device of the plurality ofnetwork-enabled devices. In these examples, sending the instruction tothe selected at least one playback device that causes the selected atleast one playback device to enter the DND mode for the duration of theselected DND time period involves sending an instruction to the selectedat least one playback device that causes the selected at least oneplayback device to refrain from playing back alert notifications onlyfrom the selected at least one network-enabled device.

In some examples, receiving the selection of the at least onenetwork-enabled device of the plurality of network-enabled devicesinvolves (i) displaying, via the graphical user interface of the mobiledevice, a list of cloud services, wherein each cloud service of the listof cloud services corresponds to a respective network-enabled device ofthe plurality of network-enabled devices and (ii) receiving, via thegraphical user interface of the mobile device, a selection of at leastone cloud service from the list of cloud services, wherein the selectedat least one cloud service corresponds to the at least onenetwork-enabled device of the plurality of network-enabled devices.

IV. Conclusion

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

(Feature 1) A method to be performed by a playback device comprising:(i) a network interface, wherein the mobile device is configured tocommunicate, via the network interface, with a plurality of playbackdevices and a plurality of network-enabled devices on a local areanetwork, and wherein the plurality of playback devices are configured toplay back alert notifications in response to receiving, via the localarea network, the alert notifications from the plurality ofnetwork-enabled devices; (ii) one or more processors; and (iii)tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors to cause the mobile device toperform the method. The method comprising: receiving, via a graphicaluser interface of the mobile device, input data representing a selectionof at least one playback device of the plurality of playback devices;receiving, via the graphical user interface of the mobile device, inputdata representing a selection of a Do Not Disturb (DND) time period; andresponsive to receiving the input data representing the selections ofthe at least one playback device and the DND time period, sending, viathe network interface, an instruction to the selected at least oneplayback device that causes the selected at least one playback device toenter a DND mode for the duration of the selected DND time period,during which the selected at least one playback device is instructed tonot play back alert notifications when the alert notifications arereceived from at least one network-enabled device of the plurality ofnetwork-enabled devices, wherein the selected at least one playbackdevice is configured to play back alert notifications responsive toreceiving the alert notifications outside of the DND time period.

(Feature 2) The method of feature 1, further comprising: receiving, viathe graphical user interface of the mobile device, input datarepresenting a selection of at least one network-enabled device of theplurality of network-enabled devices, wherein sending the instruction tothe selected at least one playback device that causes the selected atleast one playback device to enter the DND mode for the duration of theselected DND time period comprises sending an instruction to theselected at least one playback device that causes the selected at leastone playback device to refrain from playing back alert notificationsonly from the selected at least one network-enabled device.

(Feature 3) The method of feature 2, wherein receiving the selection ofthe at least one network-enabled device of the plurality ofnetwork-enabled devices comprises: displaying, via the graphical userinterface of the mobile device, a list of cloud services, wherein eachcloud service of the list of cloud services corresponds to a respectivenetwork-enabled device of the plurality of network-enabled devices; andreceiving, via the graphical user interface of the mobile device, aselection of at least one cloud service from the list of cloud services,wherein the selected at least one cloud service corresponds to the atleast one network-enabled device of the plurality of network-enableddevices.

(Feature 4) The method of feature 1, wherein receiving the selection ofthe at least one playback device of the plurality of playback devicescomprises: displaying, via the graphical user interface of the mobiledevice, a list of the plurality of playback devices; and receiving, viathe graphical user interface of the mobile device, a selection of the atleast one playback device from the list of the plurality of playbackdevices.

(Feature 5) The method of feature 1, wherein receiving the selection ofthe DND time period comprises: displaying, via the graphical userinterface of the mobile device, a DND start time input field; receiving,via the DND start time input field, input data representing a start timeof the DND time period; displaying, via the graphical user interface ofthe mobile device, a DND end time input field; and receiving, via theDND end time input field, input data representing an end time of the DNDtime period.

(Feature 6) The method of feature 1, wherein sending an instruction tothe selected at least one playback device that causes the selected atleast one playback device to enter a DND mode for the duration of theselected DND time period comprises: sending a first instruction to theselected at least one playback device at a start time of the DND timeperiod, wherein the first instruction causes the selected at least oneplayback device to enter the DND mode; and sending a second instructionto the selected at least one playback device at an end time of the DNDtime period, wherein the second instruction causes the selected at leastone playback device to exit the DND mode.

(Feature 7) The method of feature 1, wherein: the alert notificationsreceived by the plurality of playback devices from the plurality ofnetwork-enabled devices comprise high priority alert notifications andlow priority alert notifications; and sending the instruction to theselected at least one playback device that causes the selected at leastone playback device to enter the DND mode for the duration of theselected DND time period comprises sending an instruction to theselected at least one playback device that causes the selected at leastone playback device to (i) not play back the low priority alertnotifications and (ii) continue to play back the high priority alertnotifications.

(Feature 8) A mobile device configured to perform the method of any offeatures 1-7.

(Feature 9) Tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storinginstructions executable by one or more processors of a mobile device tocause the mobile device to perform the method of any of features 1-7.

(Feature 10) A system configured to perform the method of any offeatures 1-7.

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyways) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforegoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

1. A playback device comprising: at least one processor; at least onetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising programinstructions that are executable by the at least one processor such thatthe playback device is configured to: receive, from a set of one or moredevices, a first alert notification; based on a determination that thefirst alert notification is a high priority alert notification, playback an audio notification corresponding to the first alertnotification; receive, from the set of one or more devices, a secondalert notification; and based on a determination that the second alertnotification is a low priority alert notification, forgo playing back anaudio notification corresponding to the second alert notification. 2.The playback device of claim 1, wherein receiving the first alertnotification comprises: receiving the first alert notification from afirst device in the set of one or more devices.
 3. The playback deviceof claim 2, wherein receiving the second alert notification comprises:receiving the second alert notification from the first device in the setof one or more devices.
 4. The playback device of claim 2, whereinreceiving the second alert notification comprises: receiving the secondalert notification from a second device in the set of one or moredevices.
 5. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the at least onetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprisesprogram instructions such that the playback device is configured to playback the audio notification in synchrony with at least one otherplayback device.
 6. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the at leastone tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprisesprogram instructions such that the playback device is configured to:receive, from a control device, an instruction to enter a Do Not Disturb(DND) mode for a particular DND time period; based on the instruction,enter the DND mode for the particular DND time period; wherein: outsideof the DND time period, the playback device is configured to play backaudio notifications corresponding to both high priority and low priorityalert notifications received from the set of one or more devices; andduring the particular DND time period, the playback device is configuredto play back audio notifications corresponding to high priority alertnotifications and forgo playing back audio notifications correspondinglow priority alert notifications received from the set of one or moredevices.
 7. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the at least onetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprisesprogram instructions such that the playback device is configured toreceive the first alert notification while playing back other audiocontent.
 8. The playback device of claim 7, wherein the at least onetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprisesprogram instructions such that the playback device is configured to stopplayback of the other audio content to play back the audio notificationcorresponding to the first alert notification.
 9. The playback device ofclaim 7, wherein the at least one tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium further comprises program instructions suchthat the playback device is configured to play back the audionotification concurrently with the other audio content.
 10. The playbackdevice of claim 1, wherein the set of one or more devices comprises oneor more of: an appliance, a security system device, a user device, asmart device, a fire detector or a carbon monoxide detector.
 11. Atangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereoninstructions executable by one or more processors to cause a playbackdevice to perform functions comprising: receiving, from a set of one ormore devices, a first alert notification; based on a determination thatthe first alert notification is a high priority alert notification,playing back an audio notification corresponding to the first alertnotification; receiving, from the set of one or more devices, a secondalert notification; and based on a determination that the second alertnotification is a low priority alert notification, forgo playing back anaudio notification corresponding to the second alert notification. 12.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,wherein receiving the first alert notification comprises: receiving thefirst alert notification from a first device in the set of one or moredevices.
 13. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 12, wherein receiving the second alert notification comprises:receiving the second alert notification from the first device in the setof one or more devices.
 14. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein receiving the second alertnotification comprises: receiving the second alert notification from asecond device in the set of one or more devices.
 15. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, further comprisinginstructions such that the playback device is configured to play backthe audio notification in synchrony with at least one other playbackdevice.
 16. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 11, further comprising instructions such that the playback deviceis configured to: receive, from a control device, an instruction toenter a Do Not Disturb (DND) mode for a particular DND time period;based on the instruction, enter the DND mode for the particular DND timeperiod; wherein: outside of the DND time period, the playback device isconfigured to play back audio notifications corresponding to both highpriority and low priority alert notifications received from the set ofone or more devices; and during the particular DND time period, theplayback device is configured to play back audio notificationscorresponding to high priority alert notifications and forgo playingback audio notifications corresponding low priority alert notificationsreceived from the set of one or more devices.
 17. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, further comprisinginstructions such that the playback device is configured to receive thefirst alert notification while playing back other audio content.
 18. Thetangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, furthercomprising program instructions such that the playback device isconfigured to stop playback of the other audio content to play back theaudio notification corresponding to the first alert notification. 19.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17,further comprising program instructions such that the playback device isconfigured to play back the audio notification concurrently with theother audio content.
 20. A method to be performed by a playback device,the method comprising: receiving, from a set of one or more devices, afirst alert notification; based on a determination that the first alertnotification is a high priority alert notification, playing back anaudio notification corresponding to the first alert notification;receiving, from the set of one or more devices, a second alertnotification; and based on a determination that the second alertnotification is a low priority alert notification, forgo playing back anaudio notification corresponding to the second alert notification.